Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!uokmax!d.cs.okstate.edu!unx2.ucc.okstate.edu!minich
From: minich@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu (Robert Minich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Mac and Amiga (Games--Macintosh vs A500)
Message-ID: <1991Mar22.040734.27933@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu>
Date: 22 Mar 91 04:07:34 GMT
References: <12114@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: Oklahoma State University Computer Center
Lines: 64

by navas@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David C. Navas):
|>Command-. documented in the manuals, and is given in many circumstances in 
|>which length procedures are taking place.  Anyone who has canceled a print job
|>on a Mac knows that.  The messages stares you in the face as you print.
| 
| Great, but why should I "the idiot user" automatically recognize those
| instances where command-. can be applied?  Why should I "the idiot user"
| want to read the manual -- isn't that why I bought a M*c to begin with?
| 
| Sure, the learning curve is more graceful, but it doesn't mean that we
| can't recognize where improvement can be made, does it?  I hope not...

I share your hope. There are some things Apple has done that are about
as contrary to the user interface guidlines as you can get.
Specifically, hidden options come to mind. How do you zap the PRAM?
Well, just hold down this, that, and the key over there and do this and
shazam! How do you rebuild the Desktop file? And so on.

|>Command-shift-3 to dump the screen to disk.  Command-shift-4 to print the 
|>current window to an ImageWriter.  These commands are on the command
|>reference card that comes with the Mac.  OK, so they fudged when they
|>said you don't have to RTFM.  (The screen dump goes to the root level of
|>the disk with the currently active System, I think.) 
| 
| Great -- I actually knew that by the way.  We had a discussion in our
| graduate user-interface course -- not even the Mac *expert* knew where
| the file ended up.  He said that it might depend on the system you were
| running.  Sheesh... 
|
| The point is, these things should be accessed in a better manner -- at
| least that's my claim.  I'd much rather have a menu bring up a dialog
| box with these commands.  And gee, you might even describe where the
| file was gonna end up too...  [Of course, giggle, you'd have to close
| the dialog box before you actually printed the screen :) ]

  I have to point out that the implementation of cmd-shft-3 and
cmd-shft-4 are truly hacks. To give them a proper interface would seem a
crime when you consider that the code measures a mere 598 and 34 bytes
respectively. I suspect a real interface would take quite a bit more
code, not to mention working with other printers, etc.. :-) Besides,
this is the type of functional gap that Apple purposely leaves to third
parties so they can nickel and dime us to death and make their money.

|>>Hasn't anyone ever seen that ESC key?  What do people suppose it might be
|  
|>Terminal emulation, of course.
| 
| I do hope there's an implied smiley there... :)

Well, Apple _did_ specify that the escape key be recognized as having
the same effect as a Cancel button, if applicable. This is similar to
the guidelines saying F1 F2 and F3 are cut/copy/paste. However, no
Macintosh application should depend on the presence of these keys. There
are some abilities that are forbidden for Mac applications except for
emulators or alternate operating systems such as the ability to
distinguish between the left and right shift keys and the control keys.
Keep in mind none of these considerations needed any thought since Apple
didn't have control or Fx etc keys until the Mac II was released, so a
lot of programs were written without them in mind.
-- 
|_    /| | Robert Minich            |
|\'o.O'  | Oklahoma State University| "I'm not discouraging others from using
|=(___)= | minich@d.cs.okstate.edu  |  their power of the pen, but mine will
|   U    | - "Ackphtth"             |  continue to do the crossword."  M. Ho